This invention relates to game calls, and more particularly, to game calls for simulating sounds of wild animals.
Game calls, which produce sounds similar to those of game or wild animals, have existed in many different forms for many years. Game calls may be utilized by hunters, wildlife watchers, and other persons who wish to simulate sounds of wild animals.
Broadly speaking, there are two primary categories of game calls that have existed over the years. One major category of game call involves the use of air, typically generated by a person blowing on the call, which is directed over a reed or diaphragm to cause the reed to vibrate and produce desired sounds. Another major category relates to friction-type game calls, which simulate the sounds of wildlife animals by the friction generated when two structural members strike each other.
In the game call industry, a primary concern, both of consumers and of manufacturers, has related to the ease with which the game calls can be used. Some types of game calls can never be mastered by a certain segment of the population. In particular, game calls which require the user to blow on the call can be difficult for many to master. Even some types of friction game calls can be difficult to master and, furthermore, cannot be used in many situations to simulate the desired sounds of wildlife animals.
With ease of use as a primary motivating factor, game calls have been developed which require neither blowing by the user nor the striking of two members against one another so friction generates a sound. An example is a game call involving a bellows, where the bellows generates the flow of air that moves across a vibrating reed to produce a desired sound. The game call apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,785 is an example of a bellows-type game call.
Another prior art game call which utilizes a type of bellows is the so-called Buttolo(trademark) call which has been sold for many years in Europe. The Buttolo(trademark) call is used to simulate the sounds of roe deer. The Buttolo(trademark) call produces a relatively high note when the bellows are initially collapsed, followed by a distinct, second note much lower than the first high note. The second, lower note is produced when the bellows are collapsed sufficiently such that an end of a lever is engaged by the user""s thumb or finger through the bellows. The lever is depressed and becomes completely disengaged from the sound-producing reed so that the reed is effectively lengthened and the lower note immediately results. This two-tone call is highly similar to the actual sounds of roe deer.
Recently, the Buttolo(trademark) call arrived in the United States and is now being utilized in an attempt to simulate the sounds of North American elk. There are, however, problems when trying to use the European Buttolo(trademark) call with North American elk. When North American elk are concerned about potential danger, they commonly make various types of alarm sounds (i.e., sounds suggesting to the other animals in the herd that something may not be right). Alarm sounds can vary greatly, but often involve a relatively high note followed immediately by a much lower note. The alarmed or concerned sounds can be highly similar to sounds made by the Buttolo(trademark) call. In contrast, however, when elk are calm they make smooth and soothing xe2x80x9cmewxe2x80x9d type sounds which go from an initial high note and slide gradually down toward lower notes. This gradual and continuous high-to-low movement of notes provides a calming assurance to the elk that all is well.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to develop a game call which can be easily utilized by virtually everyone to create various sounds of wild animals. More specifically, there is a need to provide a game call apparatus which is relatively easy to use and to manipulate in order to create a variety of highly precise sounds that simulate sounds of wildlife animals. Still further, there is a need to develop a game call apparatus that utilizes a bellows which can create the soothing sounds of North American elk by generating an initial high note and gradually moving toward lower notes.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a game call apparatus that is easy to use.
Another primary object of the invention is to provide a game call apparatus that can be easily manipulated to produce a variety of sounds to simulate sounds of wildlife animals.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a game call apparatus with a bellows for generating airflow which produces a variety of sounds highly similar to the sounds of wild animals.
Another object of the invention is to provide a game call apparatus which is manually manipulable to change the tones produced by the game call apparatus.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a game call apparatus that utilizes a bellows to force air across a sound-producing reed to produce sounds and that also is manipulable by the user to create a variety of different sounds.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a game call apparatus having a pressure point structure which engages a sound-producing reed and slides relative to the reed to change continuously and gradually the sounds produced by the game call apparatus.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a game call apparatus having a bellows for generating airflow across a sound-producing reed and a pressure point structure which engages the vibrating reed and slides relative to the reed upon manual manipulation by the user to change continuously and gradually the sounds produced by the game call apparatus.
The foregoing objects are achieved by a game call apparatus that requires an airflow across a sound-producing reed, which may be produced by a bellows in a preferred embodiment, to create a variety of sounds that simulate the sounds of wildlife animals. The game call apparatus further includes a pressure point structure which engages the sound-producing reed at a reed contact location. The pressure point structure can be manually manipulated to move the pressure point structure along the reed and change the reed contact location so that the sound-producing reed gradually changes the sounds produced by the game call apparatus. The bellows may include an aperture which must be covered when the game call is used. When the game call is not being purposely used, the aperture allows air to escape when the bellows are inadvertently collapsed to prevent the game call from sounding.